PHOTO COLLECTION :Election 2024 photo combinations of Presidential candidates Harris and Trump

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PHOTO COLLECTION :Election 2024 photo combinations of Presidential candidates Harris and Trump

2024-11-03 06:35 Last Updated At：06:40

This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

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This combination of photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking during a rally in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 12, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, right, speaking during a rally in Warren, Mich., Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

FILE - This combination of images shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at separate campaign events Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga., and Aston, Pa., respectively. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, left, Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - In this combination image, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/File)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking during a campaign rally in Kalamazoo, Mich., Oct. 26, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, right, speaking during a campaign rally Oct. 22, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP Photo)

This combination of photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, speaking at a campaign event Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C., and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, speaking a campaign event Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, speaking at at a town hall on Oct. 20, 2024, in Lancaster, Pa., and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, speaking at a campaign rally on Oct. 14, 2024, Erie, Pa. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, speaking at a campaign rally, Oct. 18, 2024, in Detroit, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, speaking at a campaign rally in Green Bay, Wis., Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally Oct. 18, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, right, speaking at a campaign rally Oct. 22, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP Photo)

This combination photo shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an event, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J., left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Raleigh, N.C., Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rally in Warren, Mich., on Nov. 1, 2024, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally in Madison, Wis., on Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rally in Asheville, N.C., on Aug. 14, 2024, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign event in Harrisburg, Pa, on Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally Erie, Pa., on Oct. 14, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rally in Uniondale, N.Y., on Sept.18, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 12, 2024, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rall (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a town hall campaign event in Warren, Mich., on Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo)

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This combination of photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking during a rally in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 12, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, right, speaking during a rally in Warren, Mich., Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo)

FILE - This combination of images shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at separate campaign events Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga., and Aston, Pa., respectively. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, left, Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - In this combination image, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/File)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking during a campaign rally in Kalamazoo, Mich., Oct. 26, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, right, speaking during a campaign rally Oct. 22, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP Photo)

This combination of photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, speaking at a campaign event Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C., and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, speaking a campaign event Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, speaking at at a town hall on Oct. 20, 2024, in Lancaster, Pa., and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, speaking at a campaign rally on Oct. 14, 2024, Erie, Pa. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, speaking at a campaign rally, Oct. 18, 2024, in Detroit, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, right, speaking at a campaign rally in Green Bay, Wis., Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally Oct. 18, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, right, speaking at a campaign rally Oct. 22, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP Photo)

This combination photo shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an event, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J., left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Raleigh, N.C., Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rally in Warren, Mich., on Nov. 1, 2024, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally in Madison, Wis., on Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rally in Asheville, N.C., on Aug. 14, 2024, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign event in Harrisburg, Pa, on Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally Erie, Pa., on Oct. 14, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rally in Uniondale, N.Y., on Sept.18, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 12, 2024, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rall (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a town hall campaign event in Warren, Mich., on Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo)

Investigation of disappearance of children in Ecuador was delayed for days despite video evidence

2024-12-27 09:14 Last Updated At：09:20

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — A probe into the military's role in the disappearance of four children in Ecuador this month was delayed for almost two weeks, even though police had access to surveillance videos showing soldiers taking two of the children, The Associated Press has learned.

The case of the children, aged 11 to 15, who went missing on Dec. 8 in the coastal city of Guayaquil after playing a soccer, has struck a nerve in Ecuador, with rights groups and the public demanding information about their whereabouts and asking that the case be investigated as a forced disappearance.

The surveillance video was handed in to authorities a day after the children went missing, two persons familiar with the investigation told the AP. But an investigation of the military’s role in the disappearance was not announced until 15 days later.

The two spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the case. The probe only started after the children's families went on local news channels and social media to demand more action from authorities.

The security footage, showing men in military uniform grabbing two boys and driving off with them in a pickup truck, became public earlier this week. The two children in the video are believed to be among the four who disappeared that night.

On Tuesday, four badly charred bodies were found near an air force base in the city of Taura, officials said, and they were looking into whether the bodies could be of the missing children.

Later that day, 16 soldiers from the base were arrested. Investigators said it could take up to a month to confirm if the bodies are of the children because their fingerprints had been burnt off and forensic workers will have to extract DNA fragments from bones or teeth for identification purposes.

The soldiers are due to appear at a hearing next Tuesday, where they are expected to be charged with the forced disappearance of the children, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Ecuador’s Defense Minister, Gian Carlo Lofffredo said Thursday that the 16 soldiers will also be questioned by a military tribunal and that the patrol linked to the disappeared children had not been authorized by officers at the Taura base.

Ecuador’s police deferred questions from the AP about the videos to the national prosecutor’s office, which declined to respond. The Ministry of Defense and the Ecuadorean army also did not respond to questions about the footage.

Violence in Ecuador intensified in January after a gang leader escaped from prison amid deadly riots. Two days later, members of another drug gang attacked a television channel and interrupted a live broadcast to make demands to the government.

President Daniel Noboa's government has leaned on the military to curb gang violence . However, the military has now been implicated in several abuses, including the disappearance of two children in August in the central province of Los Rios, and the case of a 19-year-old who was fatally shot by the military at a checkpoint on a road in Guayaquil.

Noboa has promised to reduce violence as he prepares to run for reelection in February.

But many Ecuadorians have expressed their discontent as the homicide rate has tripled in the South American country since 2021, and extortion by drug gangs has forced thousands of people to migrate to the United States.

PHOTO COLLECTION :Election 2024 photo combinations of Presidential candidates Harris and Trump

News

PHOTO COLLECTION :Election 2024 photo combinations of Presidential candidates Harris and Trump

FILE - In this combination image, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/File)

This combination photo shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an event, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J., left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Raleigh, N.C., Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 12, 2024, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rall (AP Photo)

FILE - In this combination image, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during a debate, Oct. 7, 2020, in Salt Lake City, left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a debate, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/File)

This combination photo shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an event, Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, N.J., left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Raleigh, N.C., Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, speaking at a campaign rally in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 12, 2024, 2024, and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaking a campaign rall (AP Photo)

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